Jochen Hahn put behind him the disappointment of losing a podium in the first race today to take a fine victory in race two at Misano this afternoon.
Jochen Hahn put behind him the disappointment of losing a podium in the first race today to take a fine victory in race two at Misano this afternoon.
The four time champion drove a typically efficient race to go from fourth on the grid to the lead within three laps of the start.
Taking a popular win for Iveco at their home circuit, Hahn overtook teammate and fellow Iveco driver Gerd Körber (Team Schwaben-Truck) on lap two, before building a healthy lead to register his third win of the season and extend his points lead.
The race started in dramatic fashion as reverse grid pole sitter José Rodrigues (Reboconorte MAN) led away, but after running wide on the first lap, he allowed Körber through in to the lead.
The Team Schwaben-Truck racer initially held off compatriot Hahn, but on lap two the Hahn Racing driver made an incisive move and grabbed the lead. Reigning champion Hahn was then never headed and took the chequered flag 3.3 seconds ahead of Steffi Halm.
Halm made an excellent start from sixth position on the grid and was able to overtake several competitors to place third by the end of lap two. The Reinert Racing driver, who is chasing early points standings leader Hahn at the top of the points table, then slipped past Körber to secure the runners-up position.
Rounding out the podium in race two was Norbert Kiss’ Tankpool24 Racing Mercedes-Benz. The Hungarian had an eventful race but came through to claim his second podium in as many races. The double champion though was placed under investigation for early race contact with Sascha Lenz.
Kiss was subsequently penalised for the contact and given a 30-second penalty for the contact and was relegated to ninth position.
Before the penalty, Kiss was a part of a fascinating battle for the final podium position for the majority of the 12-lap race as Gerd Körber, Norbert Kiss, Adam Lacko and Antonio Albacete (Truck Sport Lutz Bernau) all engaged in a frantic scrap to entertain the Italian crowd.
The positions were largely resolved on lap six when Kiss made his way through to third place. Soon after this Körber and Lacko came in to contact and the Buggyra driver was pushed wide. Lacko fought back though and was able to salvage fourth position on the road ahead of Albacete and a frustrated Körber. These finishing positions later became third, fourth and fifth position after Kiss’ penalty was applied.
Sascha Lenz survived the early contact with Kiss to finish in sixth place in his SL Trucksport MAN. The German ran as high as third early on but was soon deposed by the swarming pack behind him and shuffled down the order.
For José Rodrigues there was redemption after his earlier error in losing the lead. He was able to gather himself together and take his Reboconorte MAN to victory in the Promoter’s Cup. It was hard work for the Portuguese driver though, as he had to hunt down André Kursim’s Tankpool24 Racing Mercedes-Benz and pull off a fine overtaking manoeuvre with just two laps remaining. This pair also finished in seventh and eighth places overall.
Completing the top ten in race two was Thomas Robineau, who again took third place and a podium appearance in the Promoter’s Cup with his familiar red MAN. The Frenchman had a relatively lonely race and finished four seconds ahead of Eduardo Rodrigues (Reboconorte MAN), who came home fourth in class and 11th overall.
Dominique Orsini took a second successive 12th position in his self-run Mercedes-Benz. The Frenchman was the final classified runner but also took fifth place in the Promoter’s Cup competition.
It was another difficult race for Enes Draganovoic who was forced to retire on lap eight after more technical difficulties in his Buggyra International Racing System Freightliner.
In the Team Championship it was the Die Bullen von IVECO Magirus duo of Jochen Hahn and Gerd Körber who celebrated a popular home win for the Iveco squad.
The final two races of the weekend take place tomorrow afternoon at 13.10 and 15.20 respectively.